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Ruiters , Denis Aidan (G P)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
32768
Service No.
Unknown
Last Name
First Name
Denis Aidan
Initials
G P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
29
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
AA 1,737
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Died in a helicopter accident. Augusta A109 crashed after takeoff in the Kruger Park during anti-poaching operations (Op Rhino)
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Sergeant
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Air Force
Defence Force
SANDF 1,021
South African National Defence Force
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Notes

ref. 85 years of SAAF

Research notes


5 Sep 2026: Unit "15 Squadron" (a squadron, SAAF's regiment-equivalent) promoted to Regiment, per John's decision. Corps (South African Air Force) unchanged.
16 Sep 2026, ServiceNo contamination sweep: the stored ServiceNo 'P1/22437' was CLEARED. It was not a reading of this man's record. PersonNumbers 32767 to 32768 -- 2 consecutive records -- all carried the identical number, which belongs to the record at the head of that run (32767, Ruiter, Denis Aidan (D A)). A value repeated down an unbroken block of PersonNumbers is a forward-fill import artefact, not men who shared a service number; the pattern holds across 850 such runs on this roll and is independently confirmed by Mike Sandham's research log, which attaches such numbers to the head of the run 167 times against 6 contradictions (all examined). No replacement is guessed: this man's real service number is simply not known, and a blank field says so honestly where another man's number did not.

Citations
Unknown
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